tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61665505579204875832017-03-26T11:24:21.967-04:00Tales, Trails and TravelsWriting, travels and photos....This is a place to share my short stories, my photos and build a portfolio of travel articles. Enjoy and dream and live.
Visit my other blog where I document my quest to write a novel: www.thewritersapproach.wordpress.comEtta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-49563039582109070922016-07-29T08:19:00.000-04:002016-07-29T08:19:06.032-04:00In her shoes
“You don’t have enough points, sir.”
The day had started out terribly. I woke up with a hangover. I had been late for work.
“Wait. What?” I said. “Where am I?”
The last memory I had was of tripping on my roommate’s shoes at the top of the stairs. Nothing around me looked familiar. Who was this man in front of me?
“Sir? You’ll have to step out of line.”
A long line of people Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-79152358536898848872014-08-27T17:11:00.000-04:002014-08-27T17:11:49.350-04:00Camping!
This is why I love to camp. One of my favourite spots.
I love camping. This seems to surprise people. Co-workers greeted my plans with a mix of skepticism and horror. Should I take that as a judgment of my presumed camping abilities? Perhaps I will take it as a sign that I am always so well put together that no one could ever imagine me without a straightening iron.
Before this trip, we had Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-67641649513052023082013-07-07T08:35:00.000-04:002013-07-07T08:35:09.312-04:00The Back Up
Jane tried to adjust herself on the narrow gurney in the
ultrasound room. She shifted to one side and then another in an awkward attempt
for a few minutes of relief. A sharp kick from her unborn put to rest the
notion of comfort.
Birth was no more than 8 weeks away. Jane was fairly certain
they would be the longest of her life. Between the constant heartburn, having
strangers rub her belly Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-21852022165098224562012-05-30T10:30:00.001-04:002013-03-09T18:44:57.439-05:00Her lips were still moving. The Tower of LondonWe completely lucked out when it came to our day at the Tower of London. Kirsten and I will never win awards for being the fastest moving travellers, so we thought we'd miss the walking tour of the Tower. Run by London Walks, these tours were rumoured to be fantastic so we didn't want to miss out. Despite the fact that it took much longer on the tube then we calculated (turns out twice as many Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-29331488735277018802012-05-21T07:56:00.000-04:002012-05-21T09:10:43.850-04:00Bitches Be Wearing Wigs - Hampton CourtSo I'm sure you're all very curious about why Kirsten and I decided to visit London. Someone was demonstrating a strong obsession love for the show the Tudors so I suggested a pilgrimage. No Tudor pilgrimage would be complete without a trip to Hampton Court where the crazy courtier life of HVIII took place.
Of course you don't show up for Henry's court looking like a shlub. That wouldn't get youEtta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-20236513716153752722012-05-20T14:35:00.002-04:002012-05-20T14:35:45.281-04:00London Calling... In hindsightI had every intention of posting while I travelled with my friend Kirsten in London last week. Well the wifi gods were against me, so instead I'm doing post trip postings. If that annoys your sense of authenticity, tough. :) Enjoy!
Watch where you're going, you foolish tourist!
I think I may have learned to play poker at Kensington Palace! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
London Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-48704576840473509772011-10-20T00:52:00.000-04:002011-10-20T00:52:46.169-04:00Welcome to ChicagoAny guesses on how long it takes to drive from Uniontown, PA to Chicago? Yeah, WAY TOO LONG. We decided to break up our drive with an overnight stop in Bryan, Ohio. They have the finest Holiday Inn Select and are so damned nice, but there is nothing to do in Bryan Ohio.
Before we drove approximately 6 million miles we thought we'd go on a hike in the Ohiopyle State Park. Mainly I wanted to do Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-87502354926714671112011-10-18T23:57:00.001-04:002011-10-19T00:06:28.353-04:00Frank Lloyd Wright tour - Kentuck Knob and FallingwaterThis year's trip is brought to you by Frank Lloyd Wright. Ok, well not quite because we're paying for it. We decided it would be fun to break the MINI in with a road trip. And since both Dave and I think Frank Lloyd Wright is cool, what better idea than to go to Chicago via Southwestern Pennsylvania?
That's right, I am geographically challenged enough to believe my friend Jim who assured me it Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-57614557460608240462010-10-16T12:50:00.009-04:002010-10-17T09:59:49.349-04:00Positano - the walk of the lazyIt all started with such good intentions. We'll have a decent breakfast, make our way to Praiano and do the amazing, highly touted Sentiero degli Dei. But after breakfast the lounges chairs grabbed Dave and threw him down. I had to lay down as well lest they eat him alive. It was a worthy sacrifice.We did finally make our way to catch the bus, and it was so fortunate because while the bus wasn't Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-55252335627808787852010-10-14T15:56:00.007-04:002010-10-15T16:27:43.988-04:00Exploring CampaniaSorrento has not been what I expected - very disappointing because I was really looking forward to this part of the trip.If I come this way again, I won't stay in Sorrento. By the time I leave I may teach a few people new English swear words. We've decided to handle our extreme distaste for this town by heading out every day - which was our goal in the first place, so nothing lost there.Our Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-89116848326652886052010-10-13T11:36:00.008-04:002010-10-13T15:18:29.025-04:00From north to southOur last day in Florence we decided David could wait because we were not interested in waiting in a line up that would likely stretch for hours. Instead we explored. We followed Dave's instincts and headed for the other side of the Ponte Vecchio, which was an great choice. We found all sorts of narrow little streets, a couple of churches dating back to the 15th century and even a traditional shoeEtta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-24686565273647282792010-10-11T16:24:00.005-04:002010-10-14T16:48:54.580-04:00Under the Tuscan sun… er… cloudsWe made it past Pisa and along the way were adopted by a great Australian family – a couple and their adult son who are travelling around Europe for 9 weeks. Much like cats, I can’t resist an Australian. They confirmed that there are no such things as drop bears. The company for the next few hours was great and they helped us with our bags through the Pisa train station. We thought it was a shortEtta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-38000244518644474162010-10-09T15:27:00.003-04:002010-10-10T09:22:07.851-04:00The easy way backToday we decided to heed the advice of the owner of a gelateria and hike from Corniglia to Vernazza instead of the other way around. From now on, I’m consulting the purveyors of frozen treats for all life’s dilemmas. He did not steer us wrong.After ”breakfast” and a leisurely stroll through the town of Monterosso, we trained it to Corniglia to start our journey. As an aside, we’ve decided we Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-48237268160548772882010-10-08T16:34:00.003-04:002010-10-09T03:41:21.636-04:00Incredible journeys from sea to skyEvery trip has a bumpy day. Our travel day from Rome to Monterosso had a fair share of stress, panic and frustrations. I can sum up the challenges of the day by recounting one incident that happened on the train. I was opening a 2 litre bottle of water that I had perched between my legs to get a good grip on the cap. Apparently my thighs had a good grip on the bottle because as soon as the lid Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-11500930678352151992010-10-05T18:35:00.011-04:002013-08-10T10:26:03.175-04:00It never gets boring
Last night exhaustion won out over writing - so today it's time to catch up.
We decided to continue on our self made tour with the idea of tackling Ancient Rome. We figured if the Huns could do it, so could we. Alas, we are weaker than the Huns. The long lines and the punishing sun convinced us not to actually cough up the 25 Euros to walk amongst the ruins of Ancient Rome.
Instead we Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-12574023731424177252010-10-03T18:19:00.006-04:002010-10-03T19:15:18.071-04:00Rome day 2: We walked and walked and walked some moreI'll admit it, I apparently have zero sense of direction. That may have added about 4 kms to our walking today, but it was glorious.After dedicating a full 12 hours to sleep last night, we made the decision to forgo our original plan of doing a hop on/hop off tour of the city and instead take advantage of the walking tours included in our Frommers guide book. It was definitely the right choice. Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-7897550898396609432010-10-02T18:09:00.005-04:002010-10-02T18:19:29.079-04:00Day 1: Rome - Fantastic even if you are exhausted Months of planning have paid off wonderfully - I mean from the absolute get go. Let's just forget about the flight - let's face it, no flight on Air Sardine Can is going to be good. I had rather intimate contact all night with my seat mate - a pleasant woman originally from South Carolina. I very much enjoyed the constant announcements in 3 languages. Who doesn't want duty free at 2 AM?Passport Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-54610251433116700022010-09-29T23:39:00.003-04:002010-09-29T23:48:59.523-04:00How can I be tired? I haven’t left yetOr why you shouldn’t try to plan a trip to Europe in one weekMy flight is 48 hours from now but I’m already pooped. Forget jetlag – trip planning can be energy sucking. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to pack all the fun of searching for accommodations in 2 countries and 6 cities in to the week before my departure. Before I have to hide under my desk for fear of the wrath of those who are already a Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-63069504580422183762010-09-06T23:18:00.001-04:002012-05-29T16:35:32.835-04:00The SneezeThe instructions for that day’s grade one assignment were quite clear. Draw three daisies. Simple. Karine loved to draw and for once felt certain Sister Imelda would praise her for her artistic talents, her flawless daisies, the shape of their petals and the green of their stem. Of course because she was only 6 years old, her thoughts ran more towards how she’d get her picture hung at the front Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-63106447079666945542010-04-18T11:33:00.001-04:002010-04-19T11:28:08.063-04:00The squirrel on Malcolm’s deckMalcolm stared down his enemy – steely eyed versus beady eyed. Squirrel remained the essence of defiance. He held his six inch long body (not including tail) in the stance of an ancient warrior. Proud. Defiant. Victorious.Malcolm’s quest for the last six weeks: rid his garden, his haven of peace, of this vermin. Not only was his presence a constant irritant, but this creature had managed to eat Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-9856950101028505342010-04-12T00:28:00.002-04:002010-04-12T00:31:32.856-04:002gether, 4everMarvin knew how to plead with his big brown eyes. Christine couldn't ignore him. She didn’t want to. Everyone else in the house in the house did a spectacular job of that. When she had agreed to the dog, Christine had foolishly believed the children would keep their word and "love him and walk him and pick up his poo." She had romanticized the idea of taking him for long walks and brisk hikes. Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-14445413747137936352010-03-31T22:26:00.001-04:002010-03-31T22:28:03.064-04:00Sometimes Marco Polo can go all wrong“Marco?”“Polo!” “Marco?”“Polo!” Melissa contemplated the dangers of playing pool games with Sarah, the neighbour’s daughter. Was this a good idea? Should you allow a child to move willy nilly around a pool with her eyes closed? There was no point. She was trapped. There was an audience. They had all managed to escape. She glared at the other adults lounging on the deck with their drinks and theirEtta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-86853839242096633652010-03-28T12:29:00.011-04:002010-03-31T12:11:42.165-04:00The key to Orion's beltMy first tale is inspired by the Significant Object Project (http://significantobjects.com), where writers were given small objects to compose short stories around. Unlike those stories, this one isn't fictional. EnjoyThe old key sits in a clear box in the spare bedroom closet. It has travelled with me through high school, to university and the 4 homes I've shared with my husband. It belonged to Etta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166550557920487583.post-17914107372724383512010-03-23T14:53:00.005-04:002010-03-23T15:02:01.213-04:00An introductionI've been writing for 15 years - or more - but rarely for art. It's been to sell someone else's stuff, for a while it was to sell my own stuff. It was always about stuff. And a lot of it has involved insurance. Just typing that is slightly depressing.So this blog is a new indulgence. An exercise in creativity. A place where I'll share my short stories, photography and travel experiences.I promiseEtta DiLeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17339642185307168609noreply@blogger.com0